Dubai: A week of big winds and high adrenaline action, Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week delivered some of the closest and intense ‘Stadium Racing' the circuit has ever seen with The Wave Muscat sailing away as the ultimate winner.
Skippered by local Isle of Wight-born Leigh McMillan, Britain's Olympic Tornado representative in Beijing 2008, the Omani team powered its way to their first Act win this season.
A drama-filled six days of racing saw a major collision between Artemis Racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on the second day, sadly ending racing in Act 5 for the Swedish team; Olympic 49er sailor John Pink's Aberdeen Asset Management cart-wheeled spectacularly on the third day in testing conditions.
49er action from ‘Team EC' Benji Borg and Seb Ripard from Malta and Britain's Simon Marks and Nick Murray; plus Extreme 40 head-to-heads against champion windsurfer, Guy Cribb and, for the first time in the circuit's five year history, a day of racing was cancelled entirely due to excessive wind and sea conditions on day four.
For the 48 sailors from 15 nations, Act 5 concluded late on Friday in a more manageable 10-15 knots for the 11 Extreme 40s but with a powerful three to four knot tide testing each team's tactical prowess. The outcome came down to the last race with The Wave, Muscat team having to finish within six places of second-placed Luna Rossa if they were to hold onto the Act 5 title.
Unassailable lead
While Luna Rossa soared away from the start into an unassailable lead, so it appeared that they might take the win as Leigh McMillan's The Wave, Muscat lumbered out of the blocks in eighth.
The former Tornado ace punched his way up the fleet and although Luna Rossa was a leg ahead by the time she took the gun, The Wave, Muscat's fourth place was enough to secure her victory.
